Lenten Resources from the Diocese of Calgary​

Penitential Services Schedule

Living Lent
​Lent is a 40-day period of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that starts on Ash Wednesday & ends on Holy Thursday. It's a time of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter. We seek Him by reading His Word; we help others through giving alms; and we practice self-control by fasting. Abstinence from luxuries is important, but true inner conversion of heart is key for faithfully following Christ's will during this sacred season of preparation. In the Lent season, we remember our baptism when we were born again into a new life in Christ, and died to sin and evil.​

Fasting & Abstinence
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are universal days of fasting and abstinence from meat. Anyone over the age of 18 and under the age of 59 are obliged to fast and abstain. Fasting, in the Latin Church, is the limitation of food and drink – typically to one main meal and two smaller meals (that together do not equal the regular meal in size), with no solid foods in between. Abstinence is the refraining from certain kinds of food or drink, typically meat. While all Fridays are days of abstinence from meat, in Canada “Catholics may substitute special acts of charity or piety on this day.” ~ Ordo, note 29b and 29d. 

Charity of the Cross Retreat

Almsgiving Opportunity